A safety warning has been issued to motorists as parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai were blanketed by dense fog on Tuesday morning.
Speed limits were cut to 80kph on some routes in the capital as the hazardous conditions greatly reduced visibility on the roads. Hundreds of cars and lorries moved to the hard shoulder on the busy E11 road linking Dubai to Abu Dhabi as traffic was reduced to a crawl.
The National Centre of Meteorology issued an alert over fog in coastal and inland areas of the Emirates, with the move expected to persist until 9am. The weather centre forecasts fog on Wednesday and Thursday in its latest five-day bulletin.
Abu Dhabi Police urged drivers to "exercise caution due to reduced visibility".
"They are urged to follow changing speed limits displayed on electronic information boards. Drive Safely," the force wrote on social media.
Slow down or face fines
Abu Dhabi Police began to enforce the 80kph speed limit during bad weather – such as heavy rain, sandstorms and fog – in April 2019. The activation of temporary speed limits is posted on electronic signs on roads and announced on social media to alert people about to set off on journeys.
The scheme was introduced months after Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport's traffic safety committee agreed on a plan to reduce speeds during poor weather. Motorists who break the 80kph speed limit face fines.
Abu Dhabi Police stress that during bad weather motorists should follow the speed limit posted on electronic road signs. This supersedes any fixed speed limit signs.
Drivers should abide by the revised speed limit until electronic signboards indicate it has been lifted. Police also typically post on social media to confirm when temporary speed limits have been removed.
Fog in the UAE - in pictures
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
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